How to Tame a Dragon's Heart
by Uchuuwrites
Summary: When a lawyer purchases a dragon who just so happens to have something to do with her recent case, things are bound to become complicated.
1. Chapter 1

"She's the first Dragon we've ever had in this town. I'm assuming you're interested in the purchase." The woman dressed in gold walks around the villain chair, steps down the small height from the lounge area, down into the bedroom and comes face to face with her customer. There's something about the height difference that's intimidating, about the perfect black lines from the kohl pressed against her skin, to the length of her heels and the sheer gold shirt she has underneath her dark yellow trench coat.

Diamond is a fine woman, got her start in the obsidian market hundreds of years ago and was one of the most infamous sellers. She wasn't just tall and beautiful, but extremely powerful and if she really wanted to, she could have you killed in a crowded room and no one would have seen anything. She purses her lips, crosses her arms across her chest and pushes most of her weight onto her right foot. "You know she's not going to be cheap. First of her kind in centuries to come into this market and I should really be keeping her for myself."

"Then, why don't you?" The woman replies, fixing the buttons on her red shirt before sliding her suspenders back into place.

She chuckles, "and have word get out and people try to break into my home and place of business? Besides, you've contacted me before about it and I thought I would be nice. Besides, there's a possibility you would be able to do something with a fertile creature like that."

"Can I see her?"

She hums, "Jasper, I really do hope I'm making the best choice in selling her to you." Diamond glances over her, brings out a hand to flatten out some stray pieces of hair. "Come with me."

She keeps her entire collection deep in the back rooms of the mansion. One room would be paintings and artifacts, another for rare weapons and then there's a room simply for exotic items. Exotic items fall under any rare creatures and any rare item from one of these rare creature; phoenix feathers and talons, angel wings, dragon claws, dragon wings, and anything belonging to a mermaid or other sea creatures. The world they live in wasn't as magic filled as it has been in the past. Races were dying out, migrating to different countries or states or just to get away from the possibility of extinction. Then there were races like dragons that were so rare, people thought they became extinct long ago.

There have been many movements in the past years or so, to have people copulate, to become pregnant and mix races together just for it to live on. There were people still trying to do it, anyone with a penis trying to get whoever they could pregnant just to carry out their powers, name and kind. Jasper never needed to worry about that, she was not someone who could die so easily but at the same time found pleasure in knowing she could help build up another race of dragons or mermaids or even fae if she needed to.

The dragon was something that Jasper has always been interested in, ever since she first met one hundreds of years ago. It seemed strange for one to show up again, in their small city and Jasper was told about its existence only last month. It was rumors mostly, she doesn't really know how it was caught but her main interest was and always will be in breeding. She was a succubus after all.

When she's brought into the room, the lights turn on and the door shuts behind them. There are a myriad number of paintings covering the walls or sitting on easels around the room and then there's a cage in the center of all of it. Jasper stays back as she watches the woman go closer to it, she only sees the green of the creature near the back of the cage. She seems afraid but at the same time like she's ready to fight her captors and everyone else in the room.

"What do you want for her?" Jasper asks as she steps forward and the dragon becomes rather curious on who the other woman happens to be.

"If you can get her out of here unnoticed, I can think about charging you less. I guess about eight?"

"Deal." Jasper says quickly, not even bothering to negotiate. She knows she won't win a lower price point.

"I'll let you stay here with her because she's going to be a handful. However, I put a collar on her that will shock her if she gets any further than one hundred or so feet from you. I know you're wondering how I caught her but I don't think that's important. The details are never important." She throws something over to Jasper, a small remote that is linked with the collar.

Jasper moves even closer to the cage, crouches down in front of to look at the dragon. The light green on her skin fades into a deeper green on her scales, against her lower back, deep into her tail. When the dragon bends its neck down, she can see the small horns that are centered against the dragons' head. Jasper knows that dragons tend to have more human looking forms if they choose to shift into them. She knows this creature must be gorgeous in that form from the slanted shape of her blue-green eyes down to the simple curve of the dragons' body. From her past knowledge as well, the dragon form is always longer than their human, their hind legs are always damaged from their need to be on all fours and some younger ones have more animalistic traits.

"I'm going to let her out," Jasper speaks as her hands mess with the remote in her hand, it unlocks the bars on the side of the cage and it unhinges before swinging open.

The dragon whimpers, keeps herself backed up against the corner of the cage and Jasper reaches her hand out. The dragon thinks about taking the woman's hand but the sudden fear wells up again and instead growls and claws at her arm. Jasper pulls her arm back, looks at the deep marks against her skin and they heal within seconds.

"I'll leave you two alone. Call me if you need anything," Diamond speaks and Jasper looks back at her as she leaves the room.

Jasper looks back at the cage, "she's gone. You think you can come out now?"

The dragon shakes her head. It wasn't the answer Jasper wanted but it gave her the knowledge the dragon did understand her.

"Can you tell me your name?"

The dragon hesitates, comes closer to the opened door and stares at Jasper. She reaches out a finger and points in the patches of white over her dark skin.

"I was born like this. What about you? You have a human form, is that how you've been hiding these years?"

She whines and then nods.

Jasper doesn't ask any more questions, she stands up and paces in the room. She wants the dragon to come out on her own with no coercion on her part. She doesn't want to force the creature out, to make her try to run or escape or hurt herself with that possible shock from the collar. Jasper stops pacing, starts to rummage around the room as she waits.

There are paintbrushes and scalpels and other tools just laying around in the room. When she picks up a screwdriver, the dragon puts her hand out of the cage. "You want this?" Jasper asks and the dragon just nods until the woman hands over the item. The dragon uses it for a few minutes, messing with the collar until it unlocks and clatters to the floor, she drops the screwdriver along with it and sits there.

It takes her a while to come out of her cage.

She stays on all fours, climbs out of the cage and uses the cage as a support to stand on two feet. She looks at Jasper and then at the paintings, her hand rubs her neck where the collar dug into the skin and created a deep bruise around it.

Jasper comes over to the dragon, stands close to her and notices how defensive the creature becomes. She looks like she's ready to hide back into her cage but doesn't move. She lets Jasper inspect her again—like a bear and its prey—the curve of her breasts, waist, down to the jut of her hips and the transition of rough skin to smooth against her skin. She's dirty on top of it all, there's dirt on the side of her face, her leg is scratched up and doesn't seem to be healing like it should. She wants to help the creature, to touch her, wants to do more than touch her but doesn't want to scare the small thing.

"Let's get you cleaned up, okay?"

Jasper walks to the opened door and the dragon hesitates before getting back onto all fours and following the woman. They don't walk far into the mansion, down this hall and a quick right down the next. There a guest bedroom at the very end of this hall that Jasper always stays at when she spends the night. It's rare she uses the room unless she's called up to spend the night with Diamond. Other than that, it's an ordinary room. A king-sized bed against the center right wall, dressers, side tables, an attached bathroom, and a little lounge area near the ceiling to floor window.

The dragon jumps when Jasper shuts the door and quickly scurries underneath the bed where she stays and hides. Jasper comes over, crouches down and the dragon peeks her head out. "Hey, I'll be back in a minute...Are you hungry?"

She nods.

"Do you think you can tell me your name?"

The dragon purses her lips, come out a bit farther from underneath the bed and Jasper leans down.  
Her voice sounds sore and cracked, as if she lost her voice and was very slowly gaining her ability to speak back. She hears the dragon's name, Peridot, something fitting to the green shade of her skin. She lays on the floor, crosses her arms and leans her chin on them.

"I'll be right back."

With Jasper gone, Peridot climbs out from underneath the bed. She crawls around, sniffing the wood of the bed and heading over to the lounge chairs and climbing up onto one of them. She curls up in one of them and waits for Jasper to come back, waits for someone to give her clothes and take her back home. She feels like she knows it's not going to happen, that she's trapped here even if she doesn't feel so trapped. Peridot can't even remember what happened to bring her to this place. She was in the woods and the next thing she knows she wakes up in a car, trapped in the same cage that Jasper found her in. The people never said anything to her and she always felt like it could have been worse. Jasper was at least nicer than the woman who brought her here. That woman poked and prodded at her and kept asking her questions that she couldn't begin to answer.

She jumps when the door opens and she watches Jasper put a bunch of clothes onto the bed and heads off into the bathroom with towels. She hears water running from the bathroom and decides to climb down from the chair and up onto the bed where she sits, picking up articles of clothing and holding them up. "If you want to get out of here, you need to revert back into your human state and put on clothes."

Peridot's face turns into a look of distaste. Clothing was itchy and uncomfortable. Even if she stayed in her more human looking form she wouldn't want to wear clothes either.

"You want to say here?"

Peridot grumbles and shakes her head.

"Good. You'll do it. Can I see your leg?"

The dragon shifts her legs from out from underneath of her, flatten them against the bed and stares at Jasper. She's distracted by the woman and she cannot think of a reason why. There's something about her appearance, the marks over her skin, the way that off-white shade of her hair frames around her body like a thick coat. She's different than other creatures she's had the unfortunate pleasure of dealing with in the past. Her hand reaches out to touch Peridot's leg and she looks at the hand, claw like nails that are so different compared to the thickness of her own. She hides her fingers by crossing her arms over her chest.

Peridot's left leg jolts back when Jasper touches her and she cautiously lowers it back down. She lets Jasper touch the wound, it's not deep but it's multiple scratches and around her ankle looks as if she stepped into a bear trap. "Does it hurt?" Jasper asks, trailing her finger against a healing scratch mark.

She shakes her head and pulls her legs back to her chest.

"Let me get you washed up. Can you shift for me? I know you don't want to and it's uncomfortable..."

She shakes her head again.

"When we leave, I'm going to need you to."

Jasper heads into the bathroom and Peridot looks to her left and right before climbing down from the bed and following the woman. The bathroom title compared to the carpet is hard on her hands and she uses the bath tub to help her stand up. There's a heat coming from the water and Jasper turns the knob to stop it from filling the bath tub any more.

Bathing is easy, Peridot likes to think. She sits in the water and Jasper asks permission to touch her because it's not just touching her leg; it's her hair, her chest, and her lower body. It's just different than anyone who has ever touched her before. Dragons always have a bad rep because of how rare they are, manhandled and used for spare parts. Jasper's touch is oddly comforting.

She uses the spray nozzle to wash the dragons' hair, to clean the soap from the rest of her body when she's ready to come out. She's wrapped in a towel before she steps onto the tile and practically falls into Jasper. She doesn't like standing in her dragon form, her legs are built differently and it's harder for her to keep her legs straight without them bowing and making it completely uncomfortable if not almost impossible for her to walk normally. She knows with practice she can, it's just not something she wants to do. A few years from now, her muscles would grow to accustom her inability to walk and she might be able to but that would be years from now. Right now, she doesn't mind the view from her hands and feet.

Jasper helps her walk into the bedroom, sits her down on the bed and uses a second towel to help dry the mess of blonde hair. "I have someone coming to bring food so you can eat before we go."

She opens her mouth to speak but stops herself and frowns.

"What's wrong?" She bends down, wanting Peridot to speak to her and she does. She asks a question and moves back to cough. "Are you stuck with me?" She repeats what Peridot has asked her, "do you want to go back home?"

Peridot shakes her head and whispers something to Jasper, "I don't have a home." She pulls back and climbs off from the bed and moves back over to the chair she once sat at, moves her tail to wrap it around her lower body.

There's a knock at the door and Jasper moves to answer it. The maid at the door hands her a tray and Jasper comes back over to set it on the small table that's in the middle of the two chairs. She goes back to the door to grab a ceramic cup and shuts the door before moving back to Peridot. She hands the dragon the cup.

Peridot inspects the cup before taking it, it's warm and she assumes it to be some sort of tea. It smells like peppermint. She carefully holds the cup and looks back up Jasper.

"I was going to take you back to my home, if that's alright with you."

"My cave..."

Jasper looks up at her, most dragons had something they called home; caves, basements, anything dark and large to contain their things. "I can take you there. You can't stay there though..."

Peridot nods, takes a sip of the cup and lets the warmth soothe her sore throat. She knows Jasper isn't as bad as the woman who kidnapped her and brought her here but Peridot has very few experiences dealing with humans or other creatures. She spends most of her time sheltered and doesn't understand how most things work or how to understand people. She at least hopes Jasper's intentions are true.

Jasper's intentions seem true enough so far. The food she brings them to eat isn't terrible and the clothes she has to put on aren't the most uncomfortable but she appreciates being able to get out of this place. The only thing she doesn't appreciate is Jasper's stares because it embarrasses her. Especially in her human form with her light beige tint of her skin and how her body proportions seem to fix themselves. She can stand up straight unlike in her dragon form and her curves seem even more defined in clothing she's wearing.

Leaving the house wasn't an issue, however a maid stops Jasper and gives her a bag before the two leave. Going outside was a problem however, because the mansion was in the dead center of the obsidian market and there were hundreds of different people roaming the streets. There were so many different booths set up, trolls and goblins and fairies running all sorts of sales and discounted items. Jasper tend to ignore them on her normal walk through the market, only ever stopping for Diamond, her assistant or one of her friends who was a shape shifter, always looking to sell her things. As popular as Jasper was in this area, no one stopped her about the woman she was with and no one even came up to her, even the ones who said hello to her stayed away.

The market wasn't as interesting as most people would hope to fine when searching for the place. The idea of magic and different creatures was always so fascinating but most humans couldn't comprehend what they were experiencing and it was the reason why magic and humans never did well together. Jasper knew that for a fact, the people in her past life who were human never stayed long and she just hopes the dragon will.

Jasper lets Peridot lead the way to her cave, stays close to her even in the market just in case anyone does try to talk to them. Someone does and Peridot learns of the fake persona that Jasper has been putting on, how viscous she can really become. The dragon doesn't question it any more than she should, continues her way out of the market and down a street. She realizes that they're out far in the city and her cave isn't in a set place so all she needs to do is find a rock.

Finding a rock takes two hours of walking and a lot of Peridot becoming lost, confused or frustrated. Jasper just stays far back, allows the dragon to do what she needs to do and eventually when they're in the right spot of the woods Peridot stops walking. Jasper just waits, she's not sure why Peridot has stopped moving and in all honesty, she's not sure why she's letting the dragon lead. In any other situation, she would have taken her purchase back to her house and fucked it by now. This wasn't what she expected, she's rather fond of the dragon and she can't explain why.

"What are you doing?" Jasper asks, crossing her arms over her chest and simply watching.

Peridot shushes her, walks over to rocky wall and placing her hand over it. It takes a minute or two before the rock begins to shift under her hand and open a passage. She perks up when the passage opens and heads inside, Jasper following her and giggling when the woman jumps a bit as the rocks reform. Jasper doesn't just become surprised by the wall closing behind her but by the thousands of gold coins littered around the cave, mixtures of jewels and rich furs, the entire cave illuminated by this dim shine.

She tries to move around in the cave but runs into this small hill of coins that scatter at her shoes. "This is really where you live?" She asks, stepping onto the coins and nearly tripping onto the furs Peridot has already been sitting on top of. She had shifted back into her dragon form, tugged off the uncomfortable clothing and was laying down in the warmth of the furs.

Jasper lets Peridot relax but can't help but stare at her. It was so rare to see a dragon up close, the curve of her face that was so different than any other creature and she knew every single part of her was worth a fortune. The claws, the wings, even a lock of hair or a chance to take the virginity of such a creature, all of them were such a rarity and Jasper had it all at her hands.

"Why...Do you keep staring?" Peridot asks as she's laid flat on her stomach, using her arms as leverage for her chin. "It's annoying, stop it." It's the most she can say before her voice cracks and she starts to cough.

"You're the first dragon I've seen in centuries. I'm curious, do you have wings?"

Peridot huffs and sits up, motioning Jasper to come closer to her.

Jasper maneuvers around a few piles of gold, boxes dipped into it and she nearly trips again before coming over to the mixture of furs and silk to sit down. Once she's comfortable, Peridot turns around, showing the succubus the strange pattern of scales on her back. She hadn't noticed it before and if she had, wouldn't think much of it. They follow the lines and curves of her bone underneath the flesh. She reaches out a hand to touch them and Peridot accepts the hand on her back, the fingers training against the pattern.

When she pulls her hand back, she can feel a strange residue on her finger tips, it sparkles in the light of the cave. She indicates it as glamour, something fairies are known to use to hide their true appearance from the human world. "You're fae?"

She nods and turns back around.

"How much glamour are you using to hide your real appearance?"

She shakes her head before trying to speak, "just the wings."

"You're only half?"

She shakes her head again. She wants to explain it but it hurts for her to talk.

Jasper tries to think of how to word her questions so Peridot can answer, "Are dragons aligned with the fae? Is that why they've been unheard of for so long?"

She nods.

Jasper shifts her body, moves her legs and crosses them in front of her. "Even in hiding there are still so few dragons, right?"

Peridot nods, watching the woman move again and copying her actions by moving her own legs.

"How many are out there?"

Peridot lifts her hands; her fingers are webbed but can spread them enough to hold up the number seven.

"In the city or in America?"

She shrugs her shoulders and opens her mouth but pauses again, "why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"You took me home. Why?"

"I'm not intending for you to stay here and I'm not intending to lock you up like some sort of animal." In truth, Jasper still doesn't know why she cares for this dragon. Why she didn't just put that electric collar back on and drag her ass home like she would any other purchase. Maybe she was growing soft, maybe the others were right about her. "Is there anything here you want to take to my home? You can always start a new collection in my basement."

Peridot perks up at Jasper's words.

"You're just extremely different than any other creature I've ever come across. You're not fighting me, trying to escape and if you did try...This is all you have to return to. I guess it can't be so bad for you to belong to someone." Jasper stops, "that came out wrong."

"I've never had a home..." She sighs, "not like it matters much."

Jasper look down, trying to find something comforting to say but not able to think of it. "Can I ask you something? How did you lose your voice?"

Peridot blows her cheeks up to make a face and lets the air out, she's rather childish in a way that Jasper can't begin to understand. She lifts a hand to her neck, "magic."

"Like, someone cursed you or?"

She shook her head but didn't explain any more. Jasper assumes she will when her voice comes back.

Jasper's not sure how long they're going to stay here but she knows she has a job to do. She needs to take Peridot back to her home and if she must use magic to do it, so be it. Peridot decides to rest her head against Jasper's thigh and takes a nap. She wonders if she can carry the dragon out of here but doesn't know how to get out of the cave she's in now. She decides to just wait for the dragon to wake up, she's sure the capture and living in that cage could not have been comfortable so maybe she is just tired.

Waiting is taking forever, Jasper falls asleep in the process and when she wakes up it's due to the sudden sound of thunder crashing close by. It wakes up Peridot because she whines, pushes her face against Jasper's stomach and rests there. Jasper lays back, allows the dragon to draw her arms around and cling to her. The dragon seems like she attaches to people so easily and Jasper wonders if that's because she's young or because she's a dragon. Dragons are known for seeing the best in people, for not running or fighting or causing war unless necessary. At the same time, Peridot could barely speak and she questions that if she could if she'd even remind Jasper anything of a true dragon.

Jasper just waits until the storm is over and Peridot has shifted and put clothes back on so they can leave. She grabs a few items and makes Jasper carry them for her as they walk back into the city. Peridot whines a lot on the way to Jasper's house, complains she's hungry and wants someone to carry her. Jasper wishes she'd stop talking and missed her when she her voice was worse and she was unable to. It's better than it was yesterday at least, still sore and hurt for her to swallow. Her voice was coming back at least so Jasper didn't have to guess and figure things out as a series of nods and head shakes.

Something huge on Jasper's mind is the fact that the woman who sold the dragon to her, might have known what sort of trouble she seemed to be. It could have also been Jasper paranoid on the weird shift in personality from being unable talk and able or the dragon becoming more comfortable around Jasper in such a short amount of time. Whatever if it was, Jasper needed to calm herself down from jumping to the worst conclusions.


	2. Chapter 2

Jasper's house is very close to the Obsidian Market. It's nothing fancy but it's two floors and has original woodworking, decal and the entire ceiling looks as if flowers are trying to dig down from the plaster. It's charming, Peridot thinks as she looks around and notices a handful of people sitting in this little lounge plastered in books. She scrambles to escape the people staring at her, heading off across the hallway and ending up in the kitchen.

Jasper follows her, takes the few items Peridot has given to her and places them in an empty cabinet drawer just to keep them out of the way. Then she watches Peridot who is staring at her reflection in the silver from refrigerator. She becomes entranced at her reflection if only for a minute before she tries to open it but ends up hitting a button that causes ice to fall from it and onto her chest. She screeches and Jasper covers her ears, "Geez, you're loud."

Peridot flings a piece of ice that got caught in her shirt onto the floor and begins to rummage around in drawers now. There are spoons, forks, knives, and potholders but nothing interesting for her to take and hoard aside from a single spoon she finds shinier than the rest. She pulls open another cabinet and manages to smack herself in the forehead with it and starts to whine, almost on the verge of crying and Jasper can't help but think she's a very strange dragon.

"Hey, why don't you sit down and calm down?" Jasper raises her voice, trying to get the attention of the dragon and Peridot looks at her and stops the whining and crying as if it was all a facade. "I know being in your human form sucks but you can't just go through all of my shit." She comes over to Peridot and takes the spoon from her before putting it back in the drawer and shutting it, causing Peridot to make a face at her.

"Who are those people?" Peridot wraps her arms around herself and moves away.

"They're freshmen law students."

"...Law?" She squints.

"You know, like lawyers?"

"I have no idea what that is." She coughs, clears her throat and moves over to a small bench on the island and climbs up it to sit down.

"I'm a lawyer. I studied law in college and did an internship for...For the woman who locked you in that cage. I've been working with these students for a few months so they can get experience with the court systems for their classes."

Peridot just stares at Jasper as if she's speaking in a foreign language.

"You have no idea what I'm saying, do you?"

"Nope."

Jasper sighs, "I have an assistant who should be here soon, her name is Pearl and she's fae. Ask her for whatever you want while I'm busy but promise me you are not going to make a mess and please stay in your human form until everyone leaves. No one can know you're a dragon and I know you're aware of what can happen."

Peridot pouts, drags her hands onto the table and uses it as leverage to pull her legs onto the chair and sit on them.

"Wait, I have a question." Jasper stops before heading back into the hall, "how did you lose your voice?" She repeats her question from when they were in the cave together.

Peridot groans, her voice hadn't completely come back yet but it was easier for her to talk without it hurting. "So, you know how dragons breathe fire?"

"Yeah?" She was slightly intrigued by the idea of Peridot being able to do that.

"Well, I can't do that but what I can do...I've never done before. I've never had someone to train me so all I can do is, well this." She holds up a finger and swipes her hand down until the light hanging above them starts to swing. "It's not impressive, I know."

"You can move things with your mind. How is that not impressive?" Jasper raises an eyebrow.

"Well, what can you do? I'm sure it's much more impressive than anything I can."

"Well-" She starts before being cut off by a shrill voice.

"Jasper, the kids need you." The woman who comes into the kitchen is tall, thin and the way her ears and nose are pointed Peridot decides she's either a pixie or an elf. She's pretty, short blonde hair, baby blue eyes and she can see why Jasper hired her. "Who is this?"

"Pearl, this is Peridot...Can I have a word with you in my office please? Peridot, stay here for a minute."

Across the hallway from the kitchen is the lounge the students are in; the door is always shut because of how nosy they normally are. Jasper gets sick and tired of their complaining on most days and it's a nice getaway from listening to it. Down the hall from the lounge is Jasper's office and she heads down to it Pearl, shutting the door once they are inside. The office is messy and that only means Pearl hasn't cleaned up in here yet; there's a large oak desk against the windows with the shades all the way down to keep out the morning light, bookshelves to either side and a chair on the other side of the desk for clients or just for Pearl to sit. It's not the biggest office but it's soundproof and works for what Jasper needs, a place to get away from the students and a place to do her work.

"Jasper, please tell me what you bought this time." The way Pearl speaks is already an indicator that she's going to become annoyed and complain. Jasper prepares herself mentally for it.

"I just need you to make sure she's okay. Like, give her whatever she wants within reason and make sure she stays in that form and the students don't talk to her or bother her or find out what she is."

"Jasper, what is she?" Pearl crosses her arms over her chest.

"She's...A dragon?"

"She's a dragon? Or is she actually a dragon?!"

Jasper shushes her, "you know how rare they are?"

"You know there are law votes coming up to make buying and selling illegal. You cannot keep doing this."

"There's nothing wrong with wanting to help repopulate different creatures. Especially dragons when they're so rare in the first place."

"Exactly. They're rare, how do you know she really is a dragon and isn't a shifter?"

"She lost her voice when I met her. Due to her coloring and size and what she's told me, I can only assume she's telling me the truth. I've only met one other dragon in my life and while yes, it was hundreds of years ago, the appearance is very similar. Long limbs in their dragon form, an inability to properly use their legs because of the muscle and bone differences, and their overall qualities are different than any magical creature I've seen in hundreds of years." Jasper wasn't sure why she was so keen on defending the dragon.

"What color is she?"

Jasper hesitates, "green, why?"

"Green dragons are normally tricksters, Jasper. You're really going to trust a dragon just because Yellow Diamond has given you her word she's to be trusted?"

"I don't trust Diamond; I trust the dragon."

"How can you trust a dragon when I'm sure ninety-nine percent of people alive have never seen one outside of television and movies?"

"Did you trust me when we first met?"

Pearl squints and then shakes her head, "when we first met I seduced you into killing someone for me because they were a threat to my kingdom."

"Yeah, and?"

"You know how long it took me to build up any real trust towards you? Especially after I died. I know you saved me and I understand you fell in love with the queen before me but you came around and pretended you were some sorceress for hundreds of years. Of course I never trusted you. I've always known what you are." Pearl sighs, moving across the room to sit down. The conversation seems longer than she expected and she can't help but be unimpressed with Jasper's reasoning.

"And it took time and you trusted me. I'm asking for you to trust me again. I know she's a dragon and I know she might not be who or what she says she is but I want to help her." Jasper turns to look at Pearl who took the chair behind the desk.

"The only reason you have for wanting to help people is to gain and spread power. You've never actually cared for the person and I can't recall you ever being in love with someone, so there's always something in it for you."

"Maybe I've changed."

Pearl chuckles, trying to keep herself from laughing. "You? Change? Jasper, I've known you longer than anyone who has ever stuck around this town. You have not changed."

There's a knock at the door before Jasper can speak and the door opens with one of the students peaking his head in, "Jasper, Connie and I contacted the company you wanted us to interview but they refuse to corporate. I was just thinking that maybe you could help us."

"I'll be there in a second," she sighs and the door closes. "Pearl, please just give her what she needs. You can scold me again later, maybe with a paddle this time." She laughs as she leaves the room and Pearl just rolls her eyes.

Focusing on her actual job was frustrating most days, especially with some companies and clients that didn't want to do what she said to do. They went to the media or online forums and were always doing things that made Jasper quit on them. She didn't want to do it but if those people wouldn't trust her, there was no trust in Jasper being able to do her job. She's been a lawyer since the Obsidian Market opened a couple hundred of years ago. She did it originally because when cops were trying to come down on the market and shut it down innocent people were going to jail. Eventually, the cops were banned from having anything to do with the market unless an actual murder or fight took place. The market stopped making the news about fifty or sixty years ago and Jasper could do her job and market work in peace.

Her current case wasn't complicated and anyone really could do it. It was a murder case, started off with a young woman being accused of murdering the man she was having an affair with and was currently standing trial. Jasper's job was to prove she was innocent and bring someone new into the limelight. They were looking at the company she worked for her, the man's wife and his own family. It was obvious to her who committed the crime but it was just her powers coming into play.

Jasper was a succubus, and it made her job as a lawyer a hundred times easier. If she thought her client was lying, just touching the client would go a long way. She could learn anything she wanted about someone just by touching them and it worked much better on humans than it did the magic kind. She was always abusing her powers, using them for her own personal gain but at the same time it helped her know which clients she could help and which ones she couldn't.

Now, she was listening to three out of five students bickering amongst themselves on how to proceed. Those three were the annoying ones, the ones who might not be cut out to be lawyers but were trying anyway. Then the other two, Connie Maheswaran and Steven Universe. Jasper personally thought the two as a team were unstoppable, Connie was extremely intelligent for a human and Steven just cared a lot about the people he helped. It made sense for Steven to care so much, especially with the angelic roots he gained from his mother and the parental figures in his life. There was his father Greg who was always so caring, thoughtful and tried to see the best of everyone, his mother Rose who fell from grace and happened to be the sweetest and strongest woman Jasper's ever known. Rose was once cherubim turned fallen angel, so Steven managed to gain a lot of her powers as he grew up. On top of his parents there was Pearl, not only Jasper's assistant but Rose's girlfriend.

Connie and Steven were the two who figured out most of the information by going undercover themselves. They would take badges to get in or ask for help by having a friend tamper with security cameras inside of buildings, and while none of it was legal the two did it in the name of justice. Jasper tried to lead her students down the right path but getting the truth was always better than what was the right thing to do sometimes.

"Okay, so run this by me again." Jasper crosses her arms, leaning against the door frame.

"The cops found new evidence and they're dropping the charges against our client," one of the girls in the room speaks and Steven and Connie both sigh. They've done a lot of work to get information for the case.

"It's fine because I have a new client. I'm going to warn you that she is a mermaid so don't do anything to make her mad or uncomfortable. She's not going to be able to meet with us yet and I know it's not our sort of case but she's a good friend of mine."

"What's the case?" Connie looks over to Jasper.

"Well, all of the cases we've had since the school year started have been murders, abuse, or kidnapping. Lazuli has a case against this company that creates equipment for fishing and boating. Hooks, nets, fishing rods. She's trying to build evidence that they're adding chemicals that are harmful to waters and other sea life, so this would include all sea creatures not just fish and dolphins."

"What sort of evidence does she have?"

"She has damage on her arm caused by pieces of a net she got caught in and she gave me the net and I sent it to Garnet and she's going to check it out for me. I want you guys all to dig up everything you can on the company for me. It's called Aqua Marina and it's two words not one, it's a company that Diamond owns but it's run by Lapis Lazuli. She's the woman who came to me about this. Their products come from a sister shop in Ocean City and from there, I don't know some manufacturer. Look into it, call me if you need anything and be out of here in an hour.

The students don't respond because they know not to, they begin their research as Jasper leaves the room and heads back into the kitchen. She acknowledges Pearl who is sitting next to Peridot and getting her own work done and Jasper fixes herself a cup of coffee.

"Are you going to return Lapis' call or do I have to go down and see her?" Pearl asks and Jasper shrugs.

Peridot moves over to Pearl and whispers in her ear.

Pearl turns to her, "Lapis is a client of ours." She looks over to Jasper again, "you do realize that this is Diamond's company. She could be doing this to track down and capture more creatures. You know what it would mean to find a bevy?"

"I don't understand why you're so quick to judge her." Jasper leans in against the counter and takes a sip from her cup. She's curious how her dragon and Pearl became friends so quickly more than she cares about Lapis now.

Peridot leans into Pearl again.

"Peridot wants to know if the reason why you're so blind is because you're fucking Diamond." Pearl's rarely this vulgar with her words but she's just repeating what Peridot said.

"I saw you two when they brought me in. It's obvious..." Peridot speaks, gripping the ceramic cup in front of her and taking a sip from it.

"I thought you told me you were going to end your relationship with her, but clearly not if you bought a dragon from her." Pearl is frustrated, not just because of any feelings she still had towards Jasper but because Jasper lied to her.

"I'm not sleeping with her. I had a relationship with her ex-wife but it was like a hundred years ago and it's the reason why she and I still talk. Besides, she's the only person I know who is willing to sell to me anymore."

"Well, why don't you tell Peridot what you did to make everyone in the market afraid of you? I'm sure she'd love to hear that story." A different woman enters in the doorway and Peridot turns to look but all she sees is the mess of lavender hair. "I need Pearl, she and I have a date."

"It's not a date-"

"Yeah, yeah. Hurry up. J, your kids are gone by the way. They were getting into their cars as I was coming in."

"I sent them to do research. They work very fast." Jasper sets her empty cup on the counter and her eyes trail to Pearl who is collecting her papers and sliding them into her bag on the island. "Where are you two going?"

"We're heading out of the city. Amethyst has a cousin who knows her way around the company that manufacturers the equipment." Pearl stands up from the stool, pulls her bag around her neck and takes the dishes from the island and the cup Peridot had, to put into the sink. "We'll be back tomorrow morning and I'll keep you updated."

Pearl leaves the kitchen and so does the woman who came in. It leaves Jasper and Peridot in the room by themselves and Jasper looks over to Peridot. She becomes suddenly nervous that Jasper's staring at her again, "what? I told you to stop staring at me."

"Why did you say that?"

"Say what? That you and that woman are having sex? Because you are."

Jasper comes over to the island, stands next to Peridot who looks away from her. "Look at me," she grabs Peridot's arm roughly which means her groan. "You don't have the right. you know nothing about me and you shouldn't talk about things you know nothing about."

"Let go of me." She struggles until Jasper loosens her grip and she can take her arm back. "It's obvious that Pearl has some sort of feelings for you still as much as she pretends she doesn't. It's also obvious that-"

"Stop it. You can't act like you know Pearl and you know me when you just met us."

"Jasper, I'm a dragon." She climbs up on top of the island just so she can meet Jasper's height. "I know people, I can read people, and the best thing about it is about ninety percent of powers and magic don't work on me."

"Diamond was able to though."

"The only person that scares me is that woman who took me from the woods because she knew my weaknesses and knew exactly how to tame me. You don't and I don't care if you own me or not because you're never going to be able to control me to get what you want."

"You don't know what I want." Jasper shakes her head.

"You want to have power over me and be stronger than me and be able to spread that power." Peridot lifts a hand to touch Jasper's face, trail her fingers against her cheek.

"What do you want then?" She asks.

Peridot drops her hands from Jasper's face and lays them in her lap, "no one has ever asked me that."

"You're incredibly young and you've been on your own for such a long time. I'm sure there's something you want."

"I-" She stops herself before lifting onto her knees, she doesn't really want Jasper but she doesn't want to be alone. She's grown accustom to being around people in her life and it started when she was a kid and living in an orphanage and lead into her having to fend for herself and deal with humans and markets and hunters. There are always people and she's never trusted them in her entire life. There was no reason to trust them. She trusted some aspects of Jasper but maybe it was because she could read her better than the ones before her. Jasper wasn't trying to hide or use magic to cast a shroud over her to keep identify secret. Jasper was just Jasper. "I want to kiss you."

Jasper raises an eyebrow, "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?" She practically pouts.

"I don't want my abilities to have some sort of impact on you."

"Wasn't that your plan all along? Well, that's what Pearl told me you liked to do. Buy poor and defenseless creatures like me and sleep with them."

Jasper chuckles, she knows Peridot is twisting Pearl's word and she applauds the dragon for trying. "I'm not going to just sleep with you and toss you aside."

"So, what are you going to do to me?"

"Do you really want to kiss me?"

Peridot hums, "you know, now that I've thought about it...I think I'll change my mind."

"You have such a mouth on you. I miss when you weren't able to speak."

"That was yesterday, don't be mean." She sticks her tongue out at Jasper. Her voice is still hoarse when she speaks but she's able to talk again and it's all she cares about. "Is this what it's like to be tall?" She asks, sliding her hands back to Jasper's face, and her fingers trace over the bones hiding under the skin.

"I don't know, maybe if you grew a foot or two you'd know."

"New question," she's staring at Jasper's eyes now and they're so bright like amber. "Have you ever been in love?"

Jasper wants to pull away from Peridot and get back to her work but she can't seem to move away from her. Her hands just lift and slide against the dragon's wrists, "once or twice."

"What about Pearl or that woman?"

"I love Pearl but not the way she wants me to. Diamond is different, it's business not pleasure. You're jealous?"

"Curious. I barely know you and I'm already hearing about these other women," she hums, "not that it's a big deal."

"Good. If you really wanted me all to yourself I don't think I could arrange that."

Peridot looks at Jasper's hand on her wrist, looks at the size difference at just how big her hands are, how long and thick her fingers are. It makes her drop her hands from Jasper's face and stare. She shouldn't be thinking about letting Jasper touch her but it's the only thing on her mind. She wonders if Jasper was right about her powers having some sort of impact on her, touch was big when it came to succubus and it could drive a person mad.

She moves her gaze back to Jasper, realizing she was becoming rather distracted with the woman touching her. "Maybe you're right," she swallows, wondering if it's getting hot in the room or if it was just her body reacting.

Jasper drags her hands up Peridot's arms, resting them against her shoulders and watching the dragon lift them uncomfortably before dropping them with a groan, "right about what?"

"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

If Peridot had more control, Jasper was willing to drag her hands as low as she could get them before Peridot was writhing against the table. It didn't quite work because Peridot gave into the feeling. She wraps an arm around Jasper's neck and presses her lips roughly against hers. Jasper's lips are incredibly soft and Peridot can't help herself anymore, she's completely lost herself to the woman's power.

Jasper's hands slide down to the back of Peridot's thighs and pulls until Peridot falls against the marble and Jasper pulls her down the island. The outline of Jasper's cock is pressing against the inseam of Peridot's pants and Peridot is starting to squirm. She doesn't stop there because even if Jasper isn't planning on having sex with Peridot, she still wants to give Peridot a taste of her power.

It's just her hands that drive Peridot mad, that have her body arching from the island. The heat from them on her legs is different because of the cloth but as those hands slide up her hip and slip underneath the fabric of her shirt she feels different. She's whining, moaning and her legs wrap around Jasper's so tightly that the pressure against her groin was becoming maddening and the heat coming from Jasper's hands just made it that much more intense. That fluttering feeling in her stomach was just building up and her body was tensing up, toes curling and she was so flustered from the fact she may cum by barely being touched.

"You can't-" She bites her lip to hold back her whimpers. She's simply begging for Jasper to stop teasing her.

"Can't what?" Her hands slide higher, following the curve of her breasts and pressing her thumb against her nipples.

"Please, Jasper." She's barely making any sense at this point and can feel the wetness soaking her pants. "Don't do this to me."

Jasper wasn't planning on fucking her, she just wanted to tease her and use her powers but there's something about Peridot she can't place her finger on. She gives into the dragon, pulls back as her hands slide down to the hem of her pants and pulls them off, tossing them onto the floor. Peridot's dripping wet and Jasper doesn't know if it's the impact of her powers or if the dragon's normally so willing to be fucked.

Jasper unbuttons her own pants and pulls her cock from them. The thing about being a succubus was that ability to change her genitals to suit whoever she was with, from size to shape to type and so on. It was why she wanted to make it her mission to help people reproduce and help those dying magic breeds. She hasn't managed to help anyone yet, just buying and selling and reselling and it was all a mess at the end of it all but Peridot was a complete mess and Jasper's not even finished with her.

"You think you can take me?" Jasper asks, slipping two fingers into her and watching Peridot shift in place on the island. "Are you always so wet?" She's not even replying at this point, just a series of moans and whines and she calls out Jasper's name a few times. She doesn't even need Jasper to touch her anymore because she looks like she'll cum on pure ambition alone but Jasper wants to be the reason why.

She slides those fingers out of her and grips the shaft of her cock before pressing her head against Peridot's aching hole. She pushes in as slowly as she can, watching the dragon's body squirm again as she does so. Her heat is unlike anything Jasper has ever experienced. It's extremely hot and Jasper's own body is starting to feel like it's on fire. She tries to ignore it, presses her length to the hilt before pulling out and beginning to thrust inside of the creature. Now, Jasper's finally letting out those subtle moans from her own mouth.

Peridot's response was similar but very intense. Her feet slip up to Jasper's back and her heels dig into her shirt, she's now trying to meet Jasper's thrusts with her hips and she's beginning to very slowly shift back into her dragon form, unable to take the sensations running through her. She's trying to control it, trying to hold back her shift and focus on Jasper fluid thrusts. They stay like this for a while, Jasper changes her pace occasionally, to try and move faster and the most Peridot does is lift her back from the island and pulls into Jasper to kiss her. Her claws come out and dig into Jasper's shoulders when they touch again. Peridot feels that heat that makes her entire body tense up until she orgasms and Jasper keeps thrusting inside of her until she's filling her with her own hot cum.

Jasper cleans up when they finish, she pulls Peridot from the island and brings her upstairs to rest in her bedroom. Allows her to shift back into her dragon form because the energy that keeps her from doing it is long gone. She wraps the dragon in a blanket and leaves her as she heads downstairs to clean up the island and the floor, not to mention buttoning her pants again. She feels like she should change them but they're only slightly soiled and not too noticeable. If anyone asks she spilled something.

She's not sure why she lost her control with Peridot, what the dragon did to her or what she did to herself. She cannot stop thinking about because she's never done something like that before. She sighs, finishing cleaning the kitchen up and grabbing another cup of coffee before heading back into her office. When she does there's a woman in her office waiting for her, "I thought everyone was gone but your front door was unlocked."

Jasper looks over her as she sits down in her office chair, she has a light blue tint to her skin and it works against the blue of her eyes and the deep blue of her hair. Jasper invites the woman to sit down and she shifts in her chair, puts her legs up on her desk along with her coffee cup "what are you doing here, Lapis?"

"You were in the kitchen when I came in and I would have disturbed you in there but you seemed busy. I just want to know if there's any updates on the case."

"No, there hasn't been. You couldn't call for that?"

"Well, I called multiple times and you weren't answering, Pearl was. I wanted to give something to you. It's this weird material I found when I burned one of the nets."

"Why did you burn one of the nets?" Jasper asks as she reaches forward for Lapis to hand over the small vial that was buried in her pocket.

"I just had a theory. I have no idea what this is but it looks toxic. It's eating away at the nets which is making them defective. If it isn't man made it's coming from a creature and there are very few creatures who have that sort of abilities. Witches can create it through potions but spiders, serpents, even dragons can create this sort of thing. If I'm right, it's eitr."

Jasper stares at her when she mentions dragons and tries to focus, "I haven't heard about eitr since the Midgard Serpent and that was from Ragnarok." She looks at the chemical in the vial and places it on her desk.

"Geez, Jas, how old are you?"

"I took a class about mythology in college. The substance was created by him and that's how it came to be. It's possible that somewhere down the line there are descendants of the serpent and have the abilities, but there's a possibility that this is like eitr and we are looking for someone who has poisonous abilities."

Lapis sighs, crosses one leg over the other and leans back. "What happened to your shirt?"

"Hm?" Jasper touches her shoulder and feels the tear in her shirt and she was bleeding but it healed.

"Are you going to introduce me to your new friend?"

"No. She's sleeping."

"What did you get now? I know your type and it's either someone who can dominate you or someone you can dominate. You have loads of variety. Last time it was a centaur...I'm assuming it's someone small this time. Oh, are you still seeing Diamond?" Lapis really loved to mess with Jasper, it was payback for the hundreds of years they were stuck together.

"How come?"

"I just have something I want to sell. I assume she'd take it if she still doesn't want to kill me."

"She doesn't want to kill you." Jasper sighs, taking the cup from her desk and taking a drink. "I'll talk to her. What do you want to sell?"

"Someone in my bevy died. He was sick and so his body broke down completely before it turned into sea foam. I was able to get his gills."

"Really. I'll talk to her and sell them for you. Anything else?"

"No. Is there coffee left because I could use a cup?"

"Go on and help yourself."


	3. Chapter 3

One of the best parts about their city was not just the Obsidian Market but the beach, it's why they called it, "Beach City," and not the original name the town had going for it. Jasper remembers coming to the beach a few hundreds of years ago and she misses those days. She could surf, swim, and able to do favors for Diamond that she couldn't do on land. Those days ended when an event happened with her and Lapis and she refused to go into the water ever again if Lapis was involved. Lapis lived in these waters and being with her in water was almost toxic to her and the only way she could investigate the waters is if someone else did it for her. It's why she brought Peridot a lot and Lapis had to accept it.

They managed to convince Lapis, that Peridot was a shifter and enjoyed taking the form of a dragon. Peridot wasn't very convincing as a shifter but it made sense for one to take the form of a dragon for the rarity of them. It one of the reason why Pearl was so convinced that Peridot wasn't a dragon, that and the fact people in the past have pretended to be them. It was easy to tell the difference between a dragon and a shifter and Jasper was glad Lapis hadn't caught onto it yet. Lapis however, couldn't help but inspect Peridot and stare at her occasionally as the dragon stayed in the back seat. It was because Peridot was frightened of being in the back seat and being in moving parts made her unsteady like a dog if she tried to sit up or stand up. When they arrive to the beach, Peridot can't help but cling to Lapis and to Jasper for finally being able to stand on her own two feet again.

The marina wasn't empty, but for a small place like Beach City, the boats that were on the dock were only there to be kept by their original owners.. No one lived on their boats and they were rarely driven out into the ocean or so Lapis informed. Most of the people who went on their boat and into the ocean did not come back for days, and rarely never came back at all.

Lapis climbs down from the dock and heads onto the sand. There's a small cove that can't be seen by the docks, but to get to the cove they have to maneuver over some water and rocks to get to it. She places her bag down on the sand, and quickly begins to pull off her shirt and shorts as she waits for the others to join her.

"Okay, we only have an hour because I need to get back to the students." Jasper instructs as she sits down on a rock and looks out into the ocean.

"She's coming, right?" Lapis asks and Jasper nods.

"Right. Swimming. So much fun." Peridot makes a sound.

"You can swim, can't you?" Lapis asks as she tosses her clothes onto a rock and walks into the water. The change in her body doesn't happen until she submerges her head underwater and there's this bit of blue light that shifts Lapis' body from legs to tail. Even in the water, the appearance of the tail has it's own shine and glimmer that's rather attractive. It distracts Peridot for just a moment.

"I can swim! I just...It's been a while. I really only go into the water for food."

"Mhm, I'll wait." Lapis is swimming around in the water as Peridot is removing the new shirt that Jasper gave to her from her body. She has issues with clothing, removing them without getting her ear caught or the fabric or having issues getting one arm out. Jasper finds it amusing and laughs instead of helping her.

"Why aren't you swimming?" Peridot asks as she pulls her leg out from a pant leg and nearly falls onto the rock while trying to get the other off. She really hates sand.

"That's a story for another time." Jasper watches Peridot shift from human to the dragon form. She nearly falls but shifts onto all fours anyway, shaking the sand out of her hair. "You really don't do well with anything that isn't hard or flat surfaced," Jasper notices.

"No, I don't. I will kick you though, so shut up." Everything is easier as a dragon because she's so accustomed to being in this form. Walking on sand is a little challenging from the texture but she begins to walk towards the water, stepping on a shell or two as she feels that cool water against her skin. It feels incredibly nice for her, for her skin, to get away from the humidity today.

"Why don't you just take a better form to swim in?" Lapis asks as she swims over to her and circles the dragon.

"Dragons are notoriously good swimmers." It was true, every single dragon—even those who were not sea or water dragons—could swim well. They had good lungs, could breathe under water for an undisclosed amount of time and their webbed hands gave them the dynamic they needed to swim. Peridot tries not to mention all of these things but they were important facts in her opinion.

"Huh." She looks over to Jasper, "we're just going to look around and we'll be back in a few minutes."

Lapis could never stay in the water for just a few minutes. She lived in the water, it was more important to her than anything else so a few minutes to Lapis could have been hours. She pulls Peridot down into the ocean with her and wants to specifically explore any netting, paddles, or rope that may have fallen. Peridot's not sure how long she's down there; being so close to the ocean floor is colder and darker then what she sees when she looks up to the surface and watches the light glistening against the water. She can barely see where she is at now but the shadows and shapes makeup for her nearsightedness under water. Because of her sight Lapis is the one to grab the pieces of nylon and other materials.

Peridot's not the best person for being underwater. When she's close enough to the item she can inspect it, and give it to Lapis but going back to the surface and coming back under makes her depth perception even worse. "Are you okay?" Lapis asks her and she turns in the water, making out her shadow before nodding. "I'll be right back."

Lapis leaves her to go back to the surface and hand what she's gotten to Jasper who puts them in a small bag she's carrying her pocket. When she comes back down she can't help but stare at Peridot who looks as if something is wrong. They're still so close to the shore that Lapis can't figure out what it is.

"What is that noise?" She asks as Lapis swims over to her.

"I don't hear anything."

Lapis watches Peridot swim out further into the ocean and then decides to follow her. The sound is strangely entrancing to Peridot but the closer she got the louder the sound became. She goes farther ahead of Lapis in the water, swimming off into the depth of the ocean. The noise is piercing her ears with a shrill sound but she can't help but swim closer towards it. She covers her ears to block out the noise, trying desperately to get closer but something makes her stop. The noise in her ears gets louder and louder and Peridot starts to scream.

Peridot cannot remember much after that, Lapis pulls her from the water and swims up to surface with her. The dragon is struggling, fighting to go back into the water and back towards that sound but Lapis uses all her strength to drag her to the surface and back over to the small cove Jasper's waiting at.

"What happened?" Jasper stands up and helps Lapis pull Peridot out of the water.

"I have no idea." Lapis pulls herself from the water, that glimmering sapphire sparkle of her tail fading out as her tail reverts into legs. "She started screaming but there was nothing down there"

Peridot's clinging to Jasper, buries her face into the woman's chest and stays there. She's soaking wet and Lapis grabs a towel from the bag she brought with her and pulls Peridot away from Jasper for just a moment to wrap her in the towel.

"Are you sure there's nothing down there? Jasper asks as Peridot clings to her again. Jasper tries to soothe her, wraps a hand against the back of her neck and strokes different letters into it.

"Jasper, I didn't hear or see or sense anything. There was nothing in that water that didn't belong in the water." Lapis grumbles, moving to grab her clothes and slip them back on.

"Well, maybe it's something already in the water?"

"There's nothing in the water that could do that sort of damage and if there was I would be aware of it, Jasper. I live in these waters."

"And evolution has been adapting to the nature of humans and magical creatures for thousands of years. You know it's fully possible for there to be something in any sort of environment that's adapted or hasn't adapted to the environment. Yes, you're a mermaid and good for you but haven't there been reports of a strange sound out in the ocean?" Jasper lets go of Peridot, moves to help her put her clothes make on as she shifts into her human form.

"You sound like Pearl. But, yes, but whenever there are those reports it's normally a siren."

"But people aren't dying and sirens usually kill. You're looking at this so black and white and I think we should get a second opinion."

"I don't want Pearl going into the ocean with me." Lapis shouts in Jasper's office and Pearl just looks at her.

"Why not? I'd be a great ally underwater and if you know-"

"I don't like you. Ever since you got me kidnapped the last time we worked together."

"Yes, and I was the one who saved you."

"You know how long I was trapped?" She breathes, tries to calm herself, "Jasper, I'm not doing it." Lapis turned back to the woman who was sitting at her desk with Peridot in her lap. The dragon wouldn't leave Jasper alone when they came back, she was still frightened by the sound in the water.

"Lapis-"

"No. I'm not doing it. Nothing will make me do it."

"Lapis." Jasper tries to get her to stop ranting for a moment to speak to her.

"What?"

"Are you sure there's nothing that will make you do this for me?"

Lapis groans, she knows what Jasper is trying to do and already gives in when she normally wouldn't. "Get me double the price from Diamond and give me your tears."

She contemplates for just a moment. Succubus tears can reduce the impact of a succubus power in the right potion or it can be used to amplify their strength amongst other things. "I can do that. Now, if we're done arguing let's go to the lounge." Jasper watches Lapis and Pearl leave the room. "Peridot, you have to get down." She watches the dragon move from her lap and when Jasper stands up, the dragon climbs into her set. "Stay here. I'll be right back."

Jasper sighs as she leaves her office and enters the lounge, there's already more arguing going on and she makes it stop by raising her own voice to keep the others quiet. It's rare where she isn't brought into the middle of an argument, a strange discussion or in general must settle something. She understands that the students are young but Pearl and Lapis are much older and shouldn't need her to yell at them to stop acting like children. It was frustrating in a way but the two had a history that Jasper didn't know much about.

Jasper wasn't always in charge either, she used to do everything Diamond told her and before Diamond it was Garnet. Jasper was never on her own until fiasco at the market. Being alone meant building up people to help her do what she needed to do. She could convince Pearl into being her assistant and the school was more than happy to hand her students twice a year. They were normally interested in the underlying world of magic or wanted the credit for their classes. This year, having Steven and Connie was the best she could ever hope to have.

They were the two huddled up on the couch and looking over papers when Jasper came into the room. Pearl was standing at one side of the door and Lapis took a seat near the other side of the door. "I need you all to do something for me." Jasper starts off, tilting her head to the side to stretch out her neck, "but first tell me what you learned."

"Amethyst and I went out to explore and we spoke to a few people but they didn't want to talk to us so Amethyst got...A little violent with them. Anyway, all we learned was they slightly altered the materials they were using to build with but it wasn't anything that came across as suspicious. It came from Diamond herself to do it and we brought back some materials to test but everything seems inconclusive."

"Connie and I stayed out by the docks last night and there was this weird sound she heard when we went into the ocean. I didn't hear anything but-"

"It sounded like something shrieking. At first it was different. It sounded like something loud pitch but calming and then it started to sound like something rubbing together and making this raspy noise. I don't know what it was and Steven had to pull me out of the waters because the night guard was looking around."

Jasper and Lapis turn to each other and the blue woman shrugs, "I can't think of any water based creatures that make that sort of sound."

"Snakes can," Peridot's voice comes from the hall and she's standing so far away from everyone out of fear.

"Snakes?" Jasper turns to look at her.

"She's right," Pearl speaks, "they can rub their scales together and make a very strange sound. I don't know why I didn't instantly think of it. Dragons can do it too, anything with thick scales on their bodies. However, even as a human a hybrid can't do what we're seeing with the equipment."

"Serpents can. Some sea serpents can produce this toxic venom that can eat through anything and kill." Peridot turns around before heading upstairs and leaving the others.

"Why would there be a serpent living in the ocean?" Pearl questions, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Wait, why would a serpent have some sort of impact on Peridot and Connie but not Lapis or anyone else who is in the water?" Steven asks.

"Well, I don't know." Pearl sighs, "unless this is something else." She looks to Jasper, "it could be scaring away or killing others who come into the ocean and aren't creatures of water like Lapis. If there is a serpent in the water. I still want to do research before we try and conclusively say there's this monster in the water. If we do, Diamond has to get involved."

"If there's a serpent in the water I would know about it," Lapis growls.

"No, you wouldn't." Jasper says before looking at her students, "keep working on research for the company and check the water itself."

Jasper stays in the room for a little longer, listening to the exchange of ideas and different information the students came across on the company. Lapis is complaining and starting little arguments with Jasper about the water is her home and she knows everything that goes on and Pearl is jotting down information she finds useful to the case. They only stay in the room long enough for the students to pack up their things and head out on their new missions. Connie and Steven are going back to the beach and the other students are heading out to the lab to check on the samples Jasper sent the day before and doing research on their own.

It's nice to have the house to herself and sometimes she's not sure why she decided to let students reside in her house and help her with cases. She doesn't remember when she first started doing it but she knows it involves something with Diamond. Everything she's ever done with Diamond has influenced Jasper is mostly positive ways. Becoming a lawyer was the main thing that the woman had helped Jasper with; branching out of her comfort zones and always putting herself first, Diamond also helped her shape her strict standards for her students and employees. The woman did a lot to help and nurture her and while their relationship wasn't the most appropriate, Jasper still appreciated the advanced learning curve.

In the evenings when the students were out doing research or simply done for the day, Jasper always felt a sign of relief when she had her house back to herself. Pearl would stick around for a few more hours if she was needed but tonight was different. Everything out their jobs to do and Lapis and her finally worked together to investigate the water deeper. Jasper was finally able to relax without the unnecessary bickering of the two and she could spend time with Peridot and try and find out what happened to her.

Peridot currently, was hiding under Jasper's bed where she had been hoarding items she had gathered around the house along with her own items she brought back from her cave. She perks up when Jasper comes into the room, climbs out from under the darkness and brushes herself off. She's naked which is always quite normal for her dragon form. Most of her body is covered in thick skin and scales so she doesn't wear clothes, not just because the dragon skin but for the sheer uncomfortableness of the clothing. Jasper's never managed to touch Peridot in this natural form of hers; there was no outline where the areola should be and even her vulva seemed to be hidden by the skin. She knows a lot about dragons and is sure there is something she can do to arouse the dragon and let those hidden features out.

"What are you doing?" Jasper asks as she moves around her room to her closet against the wall.

"Hm, Lapis gave me seashells."

"Are you using my bed as a hoard?" Jasper looks over to as she rummages for clothes in her closet.

"What? Why would I be doing that? Pft, no." She makes a face, laughs awkwardly to hide the fact.

"So, if I look under my bed?" She puts out some clothing onto her bed before beginning to take off the outfit she's wearing. First the jacket to her suit which she drapes over the back of her small desk chair and then the vest she's wearing. She took up buying professional suits because of Diamond, the woman always like Jasper in suit and tie.

"No! Don't look under your bed!" She hesitates as she sways where she's standing, as if she's trying to come up with some sort of lie. Jasper only chuckles in response. "So, what are you doing?"

"Right now? Going to take a bath and relax. Why?"

"Uh, no reason..."

Jasper is in the process of pulling her shirt off when she heads into the bathroom to turn on the water for the tub. Her tub is a reasonable size and could fit the two if she tried, but she drops some soap into the tub before coming back to put her dirty clothes into her basket. "Do you want to take a bath with me?" She asks as she grabs and twirls her hair up into a bun and pins it into place.

"What? Me? Well, I guess I could."

"What else do you have to do?" Jasper asks as she slips the straps of her bra from her arms and unclasps the back. When her breasts spill from the confined space, Peridot looks away from Jasper. "Peridot? You okay?" She smirks, dropping her bra into the basket before pulling at the buttons on her pants.

"I'm fine." She looks back to the bed as if she's ready to climb back under.

"So, you don't want to take a bath with me?" She's simply teasing the dragon now.

She grumbles, walking past Jasper and into the bathroom.

Jasper knows she's already won with the dragon, she slips off her pants and grabs towels and her robe before following her off into the bathroom. She hangs up the items on the hook of the door and watches Peridot staring at the bubbles in the water. "You can get in."

"I don't know yet." She watches Jasper, blushes at the sight of her body. She was toned in all the right places, the way her body curved into her muscles and the weight of her breasts couldn't be anything other than simply erotic. She was a succubus and Peridot was fully aware that the touch and sight could arouse her in ways she wasn't aware of.

Jasper steps into the tub, leans into the back wall and sinks into the water. It's nice, starting to become relaxing with the heat against her skin. If she had a bottle of wine she was sure it'd make her night even better but she has a dragon staring at her instead. "What's wrong?" She asks, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. The heat feels so much better on her tight muscles.

"Is there a serpent at the beach?" Peridot sits on her knees, peering into the water in the tub.

"Hm, don't know."

"Serpents are dangerous...I don't really know how safe going into the water is going to be."

"Lapis and Pearl can handle it. So, are you there reason why my television remote is missing from the lounge?"

Peridot stands up, "I may have apprehended it for a short time. You'll get it back. Maybe."

"And my watch?" She opens her eyes when she feels Peridot step into the water, she shifts around and Jasper helps her sit down. She ends up with her back against Jasper's chest and she moves around in the water until she's comfortable in the position, splashing water out of the tub.

"Hm, I might have your watch but you're not getting it back if I do."

Jasper's hands trail from the porcelain tub to Peridot's shoulders, "why not?"

Peridot blushes, leans into Jasper's chest and looks up at her, "because it's mine now. I told you everything you own now belongs to me."

"Oh yeah?" She chuckles, "but I own you."

"Hm, that's not important though because you let me run around the house and I get to steal all of the shiny things and electronics that I find."

Jasper drops her hands around Peridot's neck, trails her thumb against her chest. "I don't think I said you could go around and do that."

"What? Are you sure? Why do I have these nice and shiny things then?" She's laughing, moving to turn around and look at Jasper face to face. She lifts a hand from the water and trails the marks against her face, "I'm going to go take more things while you're getting dressed."

"Like what?"

"What shiny stuff do you have in your room? I haven't gotten to look because Pearl keeps coming up to check on me."

Jasper slips her hands into Peridot's hair, rubs circles against her temples. "I don't know. Lots of stuff, jewelry, belts, buckles on suspenders, I think I have a platinum dildo somewhere but don't ask about that. I know you already stole one of my lamps."

She shrugs, "aren't you going to kiss me or try to seduce me again?"

"You act like I have ulterior motives." She chuckles, dropping her hands and trying to get back to her relaxation. She's not sure how long she stays in the water but Peridot's already left the water and dried herself off before heading off into the bedroom. Jasper can see her on the bed from where she sits but once the water begins to get cool she climbs out of it.

Instead of grabbing her robe she steps into the bedroom, water dripping from her body and she unpins her hair and lets it fall around her. She watches Peridot who is staring at her and she scoots farther away, "does your power have any impact from far away?" Peridot asks as she pushes the blankets out of her way as if she's about to get into them."

"Don't know. I usually just touch people but sometimes looking at me can be pretty-"

"Alluring," she finishes Jasper's sentence.

"Yeah." Jasper climbs onto the bed, "do you want me to touch you again?"

Peridot whines, embarrassed at the way Jasper speaks to her and looks at her with those hungry eyes. "What else can you do?"

"You mean, like powers? Everything is about touch and sight..." Jasper sits back on her heels, pushes hair behind her back and thinks about it. "What can you do?"

Peridot moves, climbs off the bed and hides underneath of it without answering Jasper.

"Peridot, are you going to hide or do you want to have sex?" Jasper rolls her eyes but all she gets is Peridot's hand coming up to the mattress to put her missing watch on the bed.


End file.
